Support for rural-free-delivery boxes.



0. W. RANDALL. SUPPORT FOR RURAL FREE DELIVERY BOXES.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 30, 1909.

Patented Apr. 12,1910.

OSRO W. RANDALL,

OF MILLER GROVE, TEXAS.

SUPPORT FOR RURAL-FREE-DELIVERY BOXES.

To cZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Osno W. RANDALL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Miller Grove, in the county of Hopkins and State of Texas, have invented a new and useful Support for Rural-FreeDelivery Boxes, of which the following is a specitication.

This invention relates to supports for rural free delivery boxes.

Heretofore it has been ditlicult for a carrier, riding in a vehicle, to conveniently reach and obtain access to boxes located along the road, and the object of the present invention is to provide simple and efiicient means whereby the box can be so supported as to be readily swung into a vehicle and held at any desired elevation while the interchange of mail is being effected.

Another object is to provide means of this character which can be conveniently at tached to an ordinary post and which will not readily get out of order.

With these and other objects in view the invention consists in certain novel details of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter more fully described and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings the preferred form of the invention has been shown.

In said drawings :-Figure 1 is a perspective view of the support, a portion thereof being broken away and a box being located at each end thereof. Fig. 2 is a view partly in side elevation and partly in section of the middle portion of the support, the same being shown tilted out of normal position.

Referring to the figures by characters of reference 1 designates a post of any preferred form and on which are secured legs 2 extending downwardly from a cup-like disk 3. This disk has a central opening t within which is loosely mounted a bolt 5. This bolt extends through a central opening 6 within a cap 7, there being an annular flange 8 upon said cap and which normally laps and extends beyond the periphery of the disk 3. The head 9 of the bolt is designed to rest upon the middle portion of the cap, and a spring 10 is arranged on that portion of the bolt below the disk 3 and bears at its ends against said disk and against a washer 11 which is held in place by means of a nut 12. It will be apparent therefore that the spring Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed July 30, 1909.

Patented Apr. i2, 191%.

Serial No. 510,376.

10 serves to hold the cap 7 pressed downwardly into the disk 3. Diverging arms 13 extend upwardly from the cap 7 and are secured at their upper ends to the bottom face of a supporting beam let, which is provided at either or both ends with a mail box 15. These boxes serve to counterbalance each other, but, should only one box be employed, a suitable weight or counterbalance may be mounted on the beam so as to hold said beam normally substantially horizontal.

After a patron has placed mail within the box 15 he swings the beam lat so as to support the box 15 above the road and in the path traveled by the carrier. When the carrier-arrives at the box he drives directly toward it and said box is thus supported directly in front of him. Should it be too high for him to conveniently remove the mail therefrom, it is merely necessary for him to pull downward on the box, whereupon the beam 14: will tilt at its center as indicated in Fig. 2, the spring 10 yielding to a. sufiicient extent to permit this tilting action. After the box has been emptied and any mail to be delivered, has been placed therein, the carrier drives straight forward and swings the beam 1d out of his path. It thus becomes unnecessary for him to drive close to the side of the road and to reach from the vehicle in order to obtain access to the box. It also is unnecessary for him to do any backing in order to avoid the box after the interchange of mail has been effected.

It will be seen that the device is devoid of complicated mechanism, and will not therefore readily get out of order. Where two boxes are mounted on the same beam, the carrier can swing the beam with sufficient force to bring the second box within reach after the first box has been emptied.

Obviously various changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit or sacrificing the advantages of the invention.

WVhat is claimed is 1. A device of the class described including a disk, a cap tiltably and revolubly mounted thereon, a pivot device extending through the cap and disk and loosely engaging the same, means upon said device for yieldingly holding the cap upon the disk, and a beam movable with the cap.

2. A support for mail boxes and the like comprising a centrally supported connterboth the tilting movement of the beam and balanced box carrying beam, tiltahle rerthe movement thereof about the vertical tlcally and movable about a Vertical. axis axis.

and elastic means for holding said beam In testimony that I claim the foregoing 5 normall in a predetermined position. as my own I have hereto aflixed my signal5 3. A support for mail boxes and the like ture in the presence of two witnesses. conmrising a centrally supported connter- ()SRO W. RANDALL. balanced box carrying beam tiltable ver- V' itnesses: tic-ally and movable about a \GltlCfl-l axis, 1E. MCDOWELL,

19 and spring controlled means for retarding J. B. Connn'r. 

